An NYPD employee is accusing her boss, whom she was previously in a relationship with, of sexually assaulting her and threatening to throw her in front of a train if she ever told anyone about their relationship.
As reported by the New York Post, Ammy Ventura – a 40-year-old single mom of two and civilian employee with the New York Police Department – worked in the department's Property Division handling case evidence when her supervisor, Widler Lucas, began romantically pursuing her in 2021, says a Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit Tuesday.
Ventura Claims She Entered Relationship with Lucas Believing He was Divorced
Lucas, 41 – a NYPD lieutenant and integrity-control officer for department property – first struck up a friendship with Ventura in February 2021 over the fact he was supposedly going through a divorce at the same time she was, the court papers claim.
The pair then started dating in April 2021, with Ventura believing Lucas was divorced, her suit says. They broke up around September 2021, after Ventura started seeing a different side of Lucas, the suit alleges.
Ventura Alleges Lucas Asked Her to Perform Oral Sex on Him While Driving
The lawsuit alleges that in May 2021, the couple went on a date to a shooting range and Lucas was driving Ventura home when he "insisted" she give him oral sex and became angry, yelling, "Shut the f–k up!" when she refused.
Right before they broke up, Lucas also invited Ventura on a trip to the Dominican Republic, where she discovered – after they landed – that he had brought three other women on the getaway and proceeded to largely ignore Ventura, the filing alleges.
Weeks after the trip, Lucas told Ventura, "I can't talk, I am a married man," the court documents allege. But despite no longer dating, Lucas continued to flirt with Ventura at work, the filing claims.
Lucas Allegedly Forced Lucas to Perform Oral Sex on Him Behind his Desk While His Office Door was Open
Nine months after the pair's break up, during a shift in August 2022, Lucas then grabbed Ventura by her hair, pulled her behind his desk and forced her to give him oral sex while his office door was wide open, the suit claims.
The incident was "against her will," but Ventura felt "paralyzed and completely powerless to stop the violent attack," the suit charges. Ventura felt "powerless" to speak out about what happened, while Lucas continued to talk inappropriately to her, constantly telling her he wanted to have a threesome with her, the filing alleges.
Ventura Claims Lucas Threatened to Fire Her, Push Her in Front of a Train if She Told Anyone
Around the end of 2022, when another worker told a higher-up that Ventura and Lucas were sleeping together, Lucas told Ventura never to speak about the affair, saying, "I'll f–-king kill you" and threatening to "push [her] in front of a train," the suit claims.
Lucas told Ventura to delete all evidence of their relationship from her phone and from the cloud – which she did out of "fear for her life," the documents claim. "As a single mother, [Ventura] lives in constant fear of her financial situation deteriorating as a result of Defendant Lucas' threats that he could terminate her employment given his position," the suit charges.
Ventura's lawyer, John Scola, told The Post, "My client was treated with contempt as a sexual object, harassed, sexually assaulted, and had her life threatened repeatedly at work by her supervisor who felt he could act with impunity due to his position." She is suing Lucas and the city for unspecified damages under claims of sexual harassment and discrimination.
NYPD Releases Statement, Says an Investigation is Underway
An NYPD rep said in a statement, "Sexual discrimination is prohibited by federal, state, and city laws as well as Department policies, and the NYPD takes seriously all accusations of such behavior."
"The NYPD thoroughly investigates all complaints it receives, and offers several reporting options for NYPD employees, including anonymously," the rep said.
"The Department does not tolerate discrimination in any form and is committed to respectful work environments for our diverse workforce," the representative said, adding that the department couldn't comment further as the case is pending.
